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A suspected stalker who claimed to be the missing girl was excluded after a confidential DNA test established beyond doubt she was not Madeleine McCann, police have revealed in court.

Harassment Campaign Against McCann Family

Julia Wandelt, aged 24, is alleged to have conducted a stalking campaign against the parents of Madeleine, who disappeared from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 as a three-year-old.

The Polish citizen flooded Kate and Gerry McCann and their grown-up kids, Sean and Amelie, with numerous phone calls, messages, voicemails and letters from 2022 until recently, and appeared at their home requesting a DNA test, Leicester crown court previously heard.

Official Statements

Providing testimony on Tuesday, the chief investigator on Operation Grange, explained he had acted outside normal guidelines to test Wandelt “with the aim she may stop her conduct towards the McCann family”.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cramwell said 13 people had previously claimed to be the abducted child but that: “We would not take DNA unless we believed that person was Madeleine because I aimed to prevent setting a precedent.

“If it became known in the media I had taken DNA off an individual most likely not to be Madeleine, I was worried I would have had many persons coming forward saying ‘I’m Madeleine’.

“I sincerely hold major concerns about approaching the family to say I plan to take DNA from an individual – that could have given them false hope. It could have been highly distressing and challenging for the family.”

Genetic Testing

He said the police had previously assessed Wandelt not to be Madeleine on account of no physical similarity and that she was two years older than the missing girl. But, he said, after discovering Leicester police intended to detain Wandelt on criminal accusations, he “determined that the DNA would be taken when she was apprehended”.

He said: “A comparison took place. It conclusively proved that Julia Wandelt is definitely not Madeleine McCann.”

Court Proceedings

Jurors learned that in April this year, Cranwell met with Wandelt in custody and stated to her that her DNA had been matched against Madeleine’s and that the profiles did not match. Jurors were told he told Wandelt during the visit: “You are not Madeleine McCann.”

Evidence showed that while they spoke, Wandelt inquired: “Do you really want to find Madeleine?”, and the officer told the jury he replied: “Yes.”

He said despite the test, he believed Wandelt “would suggest we have manipulated the sample”, adding: “There was a possibility she would not believe she is not Madeleine notwithstanding scientific proof.”

Emotional Distress

In prior court sessions, the court heard how the relatives were left scared and upset by their “disturbing” and “deeply disturbing” interactions with Wandelt and the other accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, as both defendants attempted to demand a DNA test.

The court learned how the defendants made progressively odd plans” to acquire Kate McCann’s DNA, which included searching the McCanns’ bins and stealing utensils from restaurants that the family visited.

Wandelt and Spragg both refute one count of stalking. The case remains active.